Freeholder-elect Ashley Bennett appears on MSNBC after defeating John Carman

Freeholder-elect Ashley Bennett appears on MSNBC after defeating John Carman

Mario Tama Getty Images

Melissa Porter
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10 November, 2017, 10:27

In January, Republican John Carman shared a sexist meme on Facebook mocking women who were participating in the Women's March in Washington, D.C., and its partner marches around the country.

In the fraught days surrounding Trump's inauguration, this turned out to be an epically failed attempt at "reading the room", as they say.

Dozens of women showed up at a January freeholder meeting to confront Carman. One woman held a box of macaroni and cheese and instructions for Carman to make his own dinner.

Carman said the meme was "a bad choice", but that the women in his life were "strong and confident" enough to not be offended by his joke. The protesters ultimately walked out en masse.

"If people feel they're being left out and their views and needs overlooked, they want to know what you're going to do to change that", she noted.

Atlantic County Freeholder-elect Ashley Bennett was a special guest on MSNBC Wednesday night following her victory over John Carman in Tuesday's general election. The district is considered a Republican stronghold, but Bennett beat the incumbent by nearly 1,000 votes out of about 14,000 cast.

"I'm so humbled and so grateful to be able to run in the community where I was born and raised and went to high school", she said. "For all the people who felt their voice wasn't heard, I said 'I'll run and I will be your voice'".

And there was Bennett, a first-time candidate who works as a psychiatric emergency screener at a local hospital.

Still, Carman's response to the controversy upset Bennett, and she said on MSNBC that she chose to run shortly after the meeting.

Earlier this month he wore a jacket that displayed a badge of the Confederate flag, used by Southern rebels who fought to keep slavery alive during the US Civil War.

Carman immediately came under criticism and subsequently deleted the post.